TORONTO -- The conspiracy theorists were out in full force yesterday, but the firing of Paul Maurice was really quite simple.
One, Toronto Maple Leafs interim general manager Cliff Fletcher knew he was going to fire Maurice to clear the decks for the incoming GM, whoever that may be.
Two, Maurice told him over lunch late in the NHL's regular season that if the axe were going to fall, then do it quickly so he could look for another job.
Three, a move like this needs to be cleared by the club owners. The first time the board of directors of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was scheduled to meet since the season ended was Tuesday.
So, Fletcher got his plans rubber-stamped by MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, president Richard Peddie and the rest of their merry crew on Tuesday. Then he called Maurice yesterday morning and dropped the axe. Randy Ladouceur, one of Maurice's assistants and his close friend, got it too. They both have the cushion of a year left on their contracts.
There is no new GM waiting in the wings who wanted everyone out of the way before he takes over. The search committee of Peddie and Toronto sports and entertainment lawyer Gord Kirke has not even started interviewing candidates yet.
As for all the hand-wringing at Fletcher's news conference yesterday - that if the search for a new GM drags on too long, there won't be any good coaches for the new guy to hire - spare me. These guys practically grow on trees.
Bob Hartley, Peter DeBoer, Dave King, Pat Burns, Craig Hartsburg and probably John Tortorella are just a few of the available names. There are three Stanley Cup winners in that crowd.
At first, the timing of the firing was a surprise. But when you consider the board's schedule, it makes sense.
Certainly, Maurice was not surprised.
"I don't think, based on the season we just had, that this was a surprise," Maurice said, adding that his immediate plans are "to hang with my kids."
"I appreciate the fact it was clearly a decision they made and they didn't sit on it for a long time. I don't know that it was a shocker."
It's a conversation you never want to have. The first [firing] is the toughest one. After that, you're in the fraternity," Maurice said.
Under Maurice, the Leafs never made the playoffs, falling short in both the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons after late rallies. He finished with a 76-66-22 record with the Leafs in his two seasons as head coach.
Maurice's future was uncertain since John Ferguson was fired as GM in late January.
The fact is, Maurice's record both with the Leafs and previously with the Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes does not stand up to scrutiny. He did take the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup final, where they lost in five games to the Detroit Red Wings, but that was the only year he won a playoff series as a professional head coach.
Maurice, 41, was appointed head coach of the Whalers in 1996 when he was 28 by general manager Jim Rutherford and the team missed the playoffs. The next season, 1997-98, the team moved and became the Carolina Hurricanes and once again missed the playoffs. In the next three seasons, until the run to the Cup final, the Hurricanes either missed the playoffs or lost in the first round.
After another finish out of the playoffs in 2003 and a slow start to the 2003-04 season, Rutherford fired Maurice.
Unfortunately for Maurice, over the past season, the Leafs were a poor team at home, a poor team on special teams, a fatal flaw in today's NHL, and a poor team in one-goal games. None of this reflects well on a coach.
So now we wait to see who the new GM will be. Fletcher was asked a thousand different ways yesterday when the new man will be hired, and each time said he didn't know. But he didn't think he would still be the interim GM by the start of training camp in September. Peddie and Kirke weren't talking.
As for Maurice, at least he knows he's free to look for another job. There are some openings for a head coach, or maybe he'll take an assistant's job or go back to television.
"I'm in a good situation," Maurice said. "Contractually, I'm in a position where I don't have to worry for a while. I don't know that it's in my nature to worry. I'm going to take some time to think about it."
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